Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The latest Snowden leaks ...

NSA and GCHQ target 'leaky' phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data ( UK Guardian 2014-01-27 )

The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have been developing capabilities to take advantage of "leaky" smartphone apps, such as the wildly popular Angry Birds game, that transmit users' private information across the internet, according to top secret documents.

The data pouring onto communication networks from the new generation of iPhone and Android apps ranges from phone model and screen size to personal details such as age, gender and location. Some apps, the documents state, can share users' most sensitive information such as sexual orientation and one app recorded in the material even sends specific sexual preferences such as whether or not the user may be a swinger.

Snowden docs reveal British spies snooped on YouTube and Facebook ( NBC News 2014-01-27 )

The British government can tap into the cables carrying the worlds web traffic at will and spy on what people are doing on some of the worlds most popular social media sites, including YouTube, all without the knowledge or consent of the companies.

Documents taken from the National Security Agency by Edward Snowden and obtained by NBC News detail how British cyber spies demonstrated a pilot program to their U.S. partners in 2012 in which they were able to monitor YouTube in real time and collect addresses from the billions of videos watched daily, as well as some user information, for analysis. At the time the documents were printed, they were also able to spy on Facebook and Twitter.

[...]

A source close to Google added that Google was shocked because the company had pushed back against British legislation that would have required Google to store its metadata and other information for U.K. government use. The legislation, introduced by Home Secretary Theresa May in 2012, was publicly repudiated by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in 2013 and has never become law. May hopes to reintroduce a modified version this spring.

Its extremely surprising, said the source, that while they were pushing for the data via the law, they might have simultaneously been using their capability to grab it anyway.

Can we all agree now that every single possible avenue is under relentless attack by the spooks, there is nothing considered off limits, lots of overlap, the goal is to have access to anything and everything, and they couldn't care less about what anyone, especially the taxpaying sheeple think about it? And what they do not get handed over to them they proceed to take through black bag jobs.

As we have seen in other stories, the British spooks are knee-deep in this, and in this case are actually the dominant player with our own spooks portrayed as the customer. This is most alarming because they get to use UK personnel as the bad guys creating a firewall of plausible deniability. That's very convenient indeed. So you have two separate countries each who sear they respect their own citizens' privacy and laws using the other to violate those laws and just handing over the information. That's pretty sick and violates the spirit of all the laws involved.

US looks at ways to prevent spying on its spying ( Yahoo 2014-01-27 )

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. government is looking at ways to prevent anyone from spying on its own surveillance of Americans' phone records.

As the Obama administration considers shifting the collection of those records from the National Security Agency to requiring that they be stored at phone companies or elsewhere, it's quietly funding research to prevent phone company employees or eavesdroppers from seeing whom the U.S. is spying on, The Associated Press has learned.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has paid at least five research teams across the country to develop a system for high-volume, encrypted searches of electronic records kept outside the government's possession. The project is among several ideas that would allow the government to discontinue storing Americans' phone records, but still search them as needed.

And to rub salt in the wounds our own government has plans to find new ways to keep us in the dark.

Gov't, Internet companies reach deal on disclosure ( AP 2014-01-27 )

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government and leading Internet companies on Monday announced a compromise that will allow those companies to reveal more information about how often they are ordered to turn over customer information to the government in national security investigations.

This is the pea under the walnut shell game in action. A wonderful compromise that allows the companies to tell us exactly nothing. Meanwhile the First Amendment is still under siege, the agreement ignores it, and even the alleged infringed-upon companies refuse to cite it. The citizens are NOT a party to this agreement and it reeks of a meeting of wolves and foxes in the hen-house deciding on what they are going to have for dinner.

[JorgeA]

Microsoft's Surface revenues and unit sales surge up last quarter despite shortages ( NeoWin 2014-01-24 )

Today, as part of its financial report for its last fiscal quarter that ended December 31st, Microsoft said that it generated $893 million in revenues from Surface tablet sales between October and December 2013.

[...]

Microsoft also listed its Surface costs at $932 million for the quarter, which means despite the revenue surge, the division is still losing money.

Wait what? That used to be calculated as Revenue-Costs=Profit. This must be some of that NuMath where a net loss is a actually a gain. What am I missing here?

You have company in being skeptical of MSFT's figures!

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

On Childrens Website, N.S.A. Puts a Furry, Smiley Face on Its Mission ( New York Times 2014-01-24 )

NSA website 'for children' features code breaking cats and dogs ( NeoWin 2014-01-25 )

As the website says: It is never too early to start thinking about what you want to do when you grow up.

To enter the How Can I Work for N.S.A.? section of the site, children click on a picture of a bucktoothed rabbit, who says in his biography that he likes listening to hip-hop and rock. In his free time, the bunny says, he participates in cryptography competitions with other cartoon characters named Decipher Dog and CryptoCat.

As a signals analyst, you will work with cutting edge technology to recover, understand and derive intelligence from a variety of foreign signals found around the world, children are told in the future employment section. You will also attempt to identify the purpose, content, and user of these signals to provide critical intelligence to our nations leaders.

America's Crytopkids, a flash-based website hosted by the NSA, is the place where pre-teens can go to learn about the benefits of the National Security Agency from the likes of "Crypto Cat" and "Decipher Dog," D-dog for short.

While one might wonder if a dog could possibly possess the necessary qualifications to work at a government agency like the NSA, one quick look at his biography reveals that he is an ideal candidate. Asked about his "favorite computer project," D-dog explains how he was able to set up a wireless network for his entire family of seven. The best part? As administrator, D-dog can "check the programs to see which ones are being used, I can figure out which member of my family is using the network." You can't make this stuff up

Well that sure is creepy. They are one step away from cultivating a cadre of embedded spies, "government-youth", reminiscent of previous totalitarian examples. All they need now is a bait on the hook so the kids rush to give up information in exchange for something like badges and points. It could evolve into a completely new method to access the homes of the sheeple. Disgusting.

Yeah, that IS creepy.

And they're getting to them from all sides:

British school children subjected to NSA-style surveillance

Train them while they're young, get 'em used to the idea of being constantly watched. No doubt this is how Winston Smith's world came to pass.

--JorgeA

[TELVM]

Latest Windows 8.1 Update 1 screenshots show changes to Start screen ( NeoWin 2014-01-25 )

Screenshots have appeared that show a traditional context menu when right-clicking on a Metro tile ...

Wow, awesome, context menus on the right click!!!

At this rate of intellectual penetration they'll have Windows 95 fully reinvented by 2020 or so.

[JorgeA]

Leo, Mary Jo, and Paul had an in-depth discussion of Threshold and the future of the Windows Desktop in Windows Weekly 339. This excerpt starts at 23:47 (although the whole preceding discussion bears hearing):

MJF: Another question people are asking is, "What happens to Desktop?" Because we've talked on this show about Desktop possibly if not probably going away at some point --

LL: Yeah, we hate the Desktop. Noboby wants the Desktop. The Desktop sucks! <laughter>

[...]

MJF: So I've been asking around a lot about this, and I'm hearing -- and this to me is very encouraging and reassuring -- is the Windows team now is kind of doing a little backtracking even beyond just adding the Start Button. They're thinking, "OK, what do we have to do to make so Windows 7 users are gonna not be afraid, when it's time for them to move to Windows 8?" So one of the things... you've gotta keep the Desktop around for these people, because they need their existing legacy apps, they can't do without them. So I think we may have been a little hasty in predicting when the Desktop totally goes away, because I think it's going to stay. And the way it probably will stay is, many of the SKUs we're talking about won't have it, but there will always be at least one that does. And that's for the people who can't live without the Desktop.

LL: A "professional" version of Windows, perhaps, or enterprisxe or something.

MJF: Yes.

[emphasis added]

Also check out Paul's comment immediately following the above exchange.

Then at 37:49, there's the following discussion of touch-screen computing:

LL: Oddly enough, customers -- according to analysts -- are not buying touch-based PCs.

MJF: Why am I not surprised?

[...]

LL: You don't like touch, Mary Jo?

MJF: I think that you don't need touch -- it's nice to have if you like touching your laptop, but you don't need touch on a laptop. You do need touch on a tablet. I've said this all along, everyone laughed and said i was a fool, but I guess there are a lot of fools out there!

PT: That's a bit harsh, I don't know if we called you names --

MJF: You didn't call me a fool, others did.

LL: I don't think -- first of all, is there a premium for touch? I guess there is.

MJF: Yeah, there is!

[...]

PT: I'm actually with Mary Jo, to be honest, I mean, for myself, my daily use laptop is a non-touch-based Samsung Ultrabook. I don't really miss not having touch, but if it wasn't a matter of cost -- it's not a problem having it on there, and I do think this is kind of the future Microsoft is pushing very hard. But it's so strange: we're coming to this holiday selling period, Windows 8.1 has shipped, but most of the PCs in stores have Windows 8, and very few of them have touch. This is just the industry doing the wrong thing all over the place. It's too bad.

MJF: ...But I just still don't want to be touching my laptop. I've said it a million times, I'll say it again: I'm really fast with a keyboard and a mouse, and i don't want to take my hands off and touch the laptop.

PT: Yeah.

MJF: That's why. It's not 'cause I hate touch, for me it's not a productive way to work.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Latest Windows 8.1 Update 1 screenshots show changes to Start screen ( NeoWin 2014-01-25 )

Screenshots have appeared that show a traditional context menu when right-clicking on a Metro tile ...

Wow, awesome, context menus on the right click!!!

At this rate of intellectual penetration they'll have Windows 95 fully reinvented by 2020 or so.

LOL

Well, they brought back opaque windows from pre-Vista days, and non-overlapping windows from Windows 1.0 (or was it 2.0). Who knows how far back they'll regress in the name of progress. All cheered on, of course, as the latest and greatest by the Neowin folks...

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Apple: 51 million iPhones, 26 million iPads sold in Q1 2014 ( NeoWin 2014-01-27 )

Apple sells record number of iPhones, iPads and Macs during holiday quarter ( TechSpot 2014-01-28 )

If you recall, Apple signed a long-awaited deal with China Mobile for the iPhone but those sales figures werent included in the latest earnings report. Thats because the handset didnt go on sale in that region until January 17 so we'll have to wait until next quarter for those results.

Contrary to the lukewarm reception on Wall Street, Apple sold quite a lot of stuff last quarter. And unlike Microsoft they reported real numbers again. Here is what we know ...

Tablets

Apple iPads ......... 26 million

Microsoft Surface ... won't tell

Phones

Apple iPhones ....... 51 million

Nokia and other WP .. won't tell

Calendar Q4 2013

Apple ............... $57.6 billion ( net $13.1 billion )

Microsoft ........... $24.5 billion ( net $ 6.5 billion )

Apple also says it sold 4.8 million Macs but I can't find a better breakdown yet for MacBooks, Mac Pros, iMacs and whatever else. Regardless, their reporting is substantially more detailed than Microsoft's, I wonder why? In the NeoWin comment thread there are lots of stunned MicroZealots, trying to find something to cheer about, but they can't because Microsoft didn't give them a single number they can use, just a lot of disconnected factoids, so they fall back on MicroZealot craziness. If they really want to know what this means though, it means that Apple sells more iPhones in a single quarter than Microsoft WP sells in about two years ( and this is *without* their new China market being counted yet ). Near as I can tell, the iPads are selling more in a single quarter than Surface sells in at least one year. But both are just guesstimates because Microsoft hides the numbers.

The MicroZealots have continually mis-compared Microsoft to Apple and Windows to Mac OS as if they were ever competitors. But that was a huge lie. However, now they have two markets where they are in fact actual competitors. And as I predicted, they are NOT going to like the result.

Microsoft extends life of Malicious Software Removal Tool on XP ( ZDNet 2014-01-27 )

A Microsoft spokesperson said "Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool is aligned with the company's antimalware engines and signatures and as such, the removal tool will continue to be provided for Windows XP through July 14, 2015."

Not big news really, although it should cause a few more heart attacks at NeoWin once they catch wind of it.

Yesterday: SkyDrive Becomes OneDrive. OneDrive to rule them all, OneDrive to find them... ( Thurrott 2014-01-27 )

ADDED: At the Thurrott article two commenters have already suggested two possible naming collisions ...

* http://www.kldenergy.com/onedrive/ ... oneDRIVE

* https://one.ubuntu.com/ ... Ubuntu One

Is it possible they did it yet again?

Microsoft not the only one using 'OneDrive' name ( ZDNet 2014-01-28 )

ZDNet has located a few more examples out there and at least two of them are going to be too close for comfort.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Watch Bill Gates play an exhibition chess match against the best player in the world ( TechSpot 2014-01-27 )

It took Carlsen just 12 seconds on the clock and nine moves to checkmate Gates during a recent taping of the European talk show Skavlan. The highest rated player in the history of the game actually broke one of his own principles to win the match he resorted to using a cheap trick against Gates.

A week before, Carlsen taught Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg how to play the game.

See video at link. I'm not going to rag on billg for losing to the world champion ( IMHO he gets real courage points just for stepping up ). My surprise from that article is that last part: "Carlsen taught Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg how to play the game". That says a lot to me about Zuck, a talentless and lucky slob who during his entire lifetime couldn't find the time and intelligence and humility to learn a game for the ages. It never occurred to me until now but wouldn't chess be a perfect screening step in the hiring process? Patience, planning, strategy, logic, all traits that are in short supply in 'Tard recent generations.

Microsoft buys 'Gears of War' franchise from Epic Games ( TechSpot 2014-01-27 )

Microsoft Plucks Gears of War Franchise from Epic Games ( Maximum PC 2014-01-27 )

Microsoft Buys Gears of War Franchise ( Tom's Hardware 2014-01-27 )

Microsoft buys rights to Gears of War franchise, says new game in development ( NeoWin 2014-01-27 )

It certainly makes sense for Microsoft to purchase the franchise as it will ensure the title will remain an Xbox exclusive for the foreseeable future.

Straight and to the point, all future releases will continue to be published by Microsoft Studios, which published previous Gears of Wars titles, ensuring the franchise remains exclusive to the Xbox.

Today's deal also covers any "entertainment experiences and merchandise" based on Gears of War, along with all future game releases. In fact, Microsoft's Vancouver-based Black Tusk Studios is now at work on a new Gears of War game, presumably for the Xbox One console.

All hail Microsoft, who are truly committed to PC gaming and would never put the screws to hundreds of millions of customers in favor of a few million Console'Tards.

Rumor: PS4 to run PS1 and PS2 games via local software emulation ( NeoWin 2014-01-28 )

Eurogamer reports, via unnamed sources, that Sony is "actively pursuing" a strategy to allow PS1 and PS2 games to run on the PS4 and possibly to offer some HD visual improvements as well. The story did not state when Sony plans to add these software emulation features to its new console, which has already sold over 4 million units since launching two and a half months ago.

As far as PlayStation 3 games, the article stated that Sony still plans to offer those titles via streaming on PlayStation Now for PS4 owners. Sony plans to launch a beta for the service sometime this summer.

Now that's quite a switch for gaming in general, and Sony in particular. Legacy embracement rather than Legacy breaking. Naturally the MicroZealot fanboys have nothing good to say about it.

Steam In-Home Streaming beta first impressions ( PC Gamer 2014-01-28 )

This is what Ive been waiting for. And actually also cements in my mind exactly what a waste of time those $499 and up third-party Steam Machines are for many PC gamers. The beta version of In-Home Streaming (IHS) is up and running on my Steam account and I've had a big grin all over my face since I started playing with it. [...]

Hands-on account of distributed gaming on a local network using off-the-shelf Windows computer as the server and client PC's under SteamOS which allows all to access any game from the user's Steam game account.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Yesterday: Samsung and Google team up for new worldwide patent license agreement ( NeoWin 2014-01-26 )

Samsung inks cross-licensing deals with Google, Ericsson as it calls for more industry cooperation ( TechSpot 2014-01-27 )

Samsung, Google Sign Global Patent License Agreement ( Tom's Hardware 2014-01-28 )

The deal also aims to send out a message to the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from co-operating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes. Thats clearly a reference not only to the ongoing disputes with Apple, but many other big names in the industry using their patent portfolios to wage war on rivals.

Not just Apple but also the Apple/Microsoft Rockstar consortium, and all other intellectual property mafia. If it were up to those guys then EVERYTHING would be locked-up IP for rent, available at an offer you couldn't refuse.

ISP block on The Pirate Bay ruled unlawful in The Netherlands ( NeoWin 2014-01-28 )

A mandatory block on The Pirate Bay imposed on internet service providers in The Netherlands has been judged to be unlawful in a ruling handed down by a court in the Hague today.

[...]

The lobbyist group that sought the original ban in The Netherlands, Stichting Brein, claims that it has been hugely effective, with a steep decline in domestic access to The Pirate Bay. But ISPs pointed out that users simply turned to other sites or methods to enable them to download content.

Now give them a big taste of their own medicine and sue those groups and their backers for losses plus punitive damages.

FBI has a complete copy of a Tor Mail server, is using it to catch hackers ( TechSpot 2014-01-28 )

Back in August, when the FBI was investigating Freedom Hosting, an anonymous web hosting company known for sheltering child porn, it managed to clone an entire server of Tor Mail, a popular anonymous webmail service hosted on the company's network.

Aside from the fact that this means that our government protectors likely are operating a server containing at least some references to child porn ( they "cloned" it, but hey, it's to protect the kids you know! ), and additionally they have "copied" ( or to use the Hollywood and Music industry term: "stolen" ) data from computers they do not own, it also means that no-one can really be sure who is operating that remote server your packets are routed through. How wonderful. It's a Brave New World!

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Yesterday: NSA and GCHQ target 'leaky' phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data ( UK Guardian 2014-01-27 )

New NSA document leak shows agency could collect info from mobile apps ( NeoWin 2014-01-27 )

Angry Birds Maker Denies Knowingly Sending User Data to Spy Agencies ( Maximum PC 2014-01-28 )

Our fans trust is the most important thing for us and we take privacy extremely seriously. We do not collaborate, collude, or share data with spy agencies anywhere in the world. As the alleged surveillance might be happening through third party advertising networks, the most important conversation to be had is how to ensure user privacy is protected while preventing the negative impact on the whole advertising industry and the countless mobile apps that rely on ad networks, Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Entertainment, stated in a blog post today. "In order to protect our end users, we will, like all other companies using third party advertising networks, have to re-evaluate working with these networks if they are being used for spying purposes."

Blaming the 3rd parties that they solicit and allow intricate access to their game and reap huge dollars from. The buck doesn't stop here, the buck never got here!

Yesterday: Gov't, Internet companies reach deal on disclosure ( AP 2014-01-27 )

DOJ, tech giants come to terms on data request sharing ( ZDNet 2014-01-27 )

US govt, tech firms settle: Round 1 to the govt ( ZDNet 2014-01-27 )

The actual agreement filed with the FISC still places complicated restrictions on when and how the companies may release the information. They may not give exact numbers of requests from the government, but do so in "bands" of, alternatively 1000 or 250, in two schemes from which the company may choose. Broadly speaking, they may disclose about specific categories of request in bands of 1000 or disclose overall requests in bands of 250. In other words, they may say that there were between 0 and 999 requests, 1000 and 1999 requests, and so on, in the first case, but not a specific number.

In the Washington Post article, Apple chooses option 2, saying "...that it had received fewer than 249 national security letters, affecting fewer than 249 accounts, in the first six months of 2013."

ZDNet author hints that the agreement might be window dressing. Well of course it is! It's the pea under the walnut shell sleight of hand. Just read the example from Apple he gave! What a joke. Transparency? As transparent as a mirror.

No NSA backdoor into Australian Parliament: Microsoft ( ZDNet 2014-01-28 )

In a Senate Estimates hearing in November, Parliament CIO Eija Seittenranta faced a grilling from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam over the department's assessment of IT security in the wake of the leaks from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showing that the NSA claimed to have direct access to the systems of Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and a number of other tech giants.

[...]

"DPS has not been provided with any specific advice that Microsoft products or any other products have been backdoored by foreign intelligence services," the department said.

"Microsoft has advised DPS that there is no backdoor within the Microsoft suite of products, nor [has Microsoft] attempted to source information from the parliamentary network or provide information to any other entity."

( also see PDF summary ) A frustrating set of responses as usual, answering "this" part of one question and "that" part of another, the same method they use for quarterly reporting. At no point is there really anything that can be said to be a certainty without wiggle room. No products or versions clearly identified.

Having said that, this is a very VERY interesting situation, where the Oz IT bureaucrat is answering official questions under oath about Australian national security being possibly compromised by the use of Microsoft products. Now all they need to do is to subpoena and place Microsoft employees under oath and ask really specific questions! And to be fair, they can likewise bring in Google, Apple, Samsung, Oracle, IBM etc. Rinse and repeat this process in each nation on the planet and we will get to the bottom of this spying in no time flat! :

[Formfiller]

Then at 37:49, there's the following discussion of touch-screen computing:

MJF: I think that you don't need touch -- it's nice to have if you like touching your laptop, but you don't need touch on a laptop. You do need touch on a tablet. I've said this all along, everyone laughed and said i was a fool, but I guess there are a lot of fools out there!

PT: That's a bit harsh, I don't know if we called you names --

MJF: You didn't call me a fool, others did.

Further proof what a crazy f***ed up industry this is. She was called a fool for stating the f* obvious?

It's like putting control sticks (joystick) into cars and expecting that everyone will adapt to that, despite all the decades of being used to a wheel and the stick paradigm not fitting cars at all.

"Copters have joysticks too, what's your problem!? Afraid of change?"

Yeah, who knew that such a product with such a attitude would bomb with the customers, gee.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Formfiller

[Tripredacus]

Rumor: PS4 to run PS1 and PS2 games via local software emulation ( NeoWin 2014-01-28 )

Eurogamer reports, via unnamed sources, that Sony is "actively pursuing" a strategy to allow PS1 and PS2 games to run on the PS4 and possibly to offer some HD visual improvements as well. The story did not state when Sony plans to add these software emulation features to its new console, which has already sold over 4 million units since launching two and a half months ago.

As far as PlayStation 3 games, the article stated that Sony still plans to offer those titles via streaming on PlayStation Now for PS4 owners. Sony plans to launch a beta for the service sometime this summer.

Now that's quite a switch for gaming in general, and Sony in particular. Legacy embracement rather than Legacy breaking. Naturally the MicroZealot fanboys have nothing good to say about it.

If this happens, I'll probably get it. My PS2 is starting to show its age so much so I've been contemplating buying a normal DVD player.

[jaclaz]

It's like putting control sticks (joystick) into cars and expecting that everyone will adapt to that, despite all the decades of being used to a wheel and the stick paradigm not fitting cars at all.

"Copters have joysticks too, what's your problem!? Afraid of change?"

No.

The example does not apply.

The steering wheel has worked for more than 100 years as a way to control direction of a wheeled vehicle, BUT the actual first cars did have a "control stick".

The control stick has worked for more than, what, 75 years as a way to control helicopters (but also excavators and other ground vehicles).

BOTH solutions have proved over the years to be very good at what they are supposed to do.

There are no particular issues, costs aside, to make cars with control sticks (provided that one can manage to get the right sensibility and feedback), as the control stick is a known good alternative to both the steering wheels and the various pedals, though of course it would take some time to get people used to it.

It could be an evolution in the way cars are controlled.

A good argument in favour of using joysticks in cars is increased safety for the driver in case of accident (article about some old research on the matter):

http://www.saabsunited.com/2009/11/the-saab-9000-drive-by-wire-joystick-project.html

and quite fresh news, drive-by-wire (while still using at the moment a steering wheel) is becoming reality:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/al_drivebywire/

BUT here we are substituting a "known to be working" and very accurate/precise set of "commands" (keyboard and mouse) with something that is:

1. slower
2. less accurate
3. ergonomically worse in most situations (with the exception of tiny, hand-held devices, like phones and tablets, where you are NOT supposed to do "real work")

It would be more like making new cars replacing hydraulic disc brakes:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/images/transport-machinery/road-transport/brakes/disc-brake_1.jpg

with wheelchair brakes:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/images/society/health/wheelchair.jpg

jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

It would be more like making new cars replacing hydraulic disc brakes:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/images/transport-machinery/road-transport/brakes/disc-brake_1.jpg

with wheelchair brakes:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/images/society/health/wheelchair.jpg

jaclaz

Or perhaps manual foot brakes? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the MetroMobile ...

( Image Source: here )

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Some more details about the Apple earnings report.

Apple: 51 million iPhones, 26 million iPads sold in Q1 2014 ( NeoWin 2014-01-27 )

Apple sells record number of iPhones, iPads and Macs during holiday quarter ( TechSpot 2014-01-28 )

If you recall, Apple signed a long-awaited deal with China Mobile for the iPhone but those sales figures werent included in the latest earnings report. Thats because the handset didnt go on sale in that region until January 17 so we'll have to wait until next quarter for those results.

Contrary to the lukewarm reception on Wall Street, Apple sold quite a lot of stuff last quarter. And unlike Microsoft they reported real numbers again. Here is what we know ...

Tablets

Apple iPads ......... 26 million

Microsoft Surface ... won't tell

Phones

Apple iPhones ....... 51 million

Nokia and other WP .. won't tell

Calendar Q4 2013

Apple ............... $57.6 billion ( net $13.1 billion )

Microsoft ........... $24.5 billion ( net $ 6.5 billion )

Apple also says it sold 4.8 million Macs but I can't find a better breakdown yet for MacBooks, Mac Pros, iMacs and whatever else. Regardless, their reporting is substantially more detailed than Microsoft's, I wonder why? In the NeoWin comment thread there are lots of stunned MicroZealots, trying to find something to cheer about, but they can't because Microsoft didn't give them a single number they can use, just a lot of disconnected factoids, so they fall back on MicroZealot craziness. If they really want to know what this means though, it means that Apple sells more iPhones in a single quarter than Microsoft WP sells in about two years ( and this is *without* their new China market being counted yet ). Near as I can tell, the iPads are selling more in a single quarter than Surface sells in at least one year. But both are just guesstimates because Microsoft hides the numbers.

The MicroZealots have continually mis-compared Microsoft to Apple and Windows to Mac OS as if they were ever competitors. But that was a huge lie. However, now they have two markets where they are in fact actual competitors. And as I predicted, they are NOT going to like the result.

... From Paul Thurrott ...

Apple Falls Short of Expectations in Record Quarter. Heady success doesn't cut it anymore, apparently. ( Thurrott 2014-01-28 )

The bigger problem for iPhone, of course, is that its biggest competitor is selling even more handsets. Samsung sold 81 million smartphones in Q4 2013, and that firm ended the year with 47 percent of the market. Apple's iPhone saw its market share fall from 19 percent at the end of 2012 to 15 percent at the end of 2013.

Crazy title and negative spin aside, Paul does add some interesting flavor, none of which will please the fanboys ...

But here's a sobering reality: in the fourth quarter, the iPhone was responsible for $32.5 billion in revenues, compared with $24.52 billion for all of Microsoft. That's right: In Q4 2013, just the iPhone was bigger than all of Microsoft.

Indeed! That is an amazing statistic. Everything that Microsoft has done is surpassed by the sales of a moderately impressive telephone. But wait, there's more ...

As has been the trend in recent years, iPod sales continued their drop-off, with Apple selling 6 million units, down 50 percent from the year ago quarter. The firm did not release new iPod models in 2013.

That is stunning because they are obviously selling more of the "dead" iPod than Microsoft is selling their hipster Surface tablets. In fact that number may even be very close to all Windows Phones!

Pity the MicroZealot fanboys, because all their worst nightmares are coming true.